Zola Italian Ristorante & Bar — Restaurant in Randolph Township

Tried Zola’s last night for the first time after hearing mixed reviews. When we first walked in we were greeted right away and seated. We were given the corner booth and told it was “the best seat in the house.” When we first sat down it felt like a swarm of people came to our table bringing us the menu, water, bread, etc. It was a different person for each one so we were not sure who our server was. We then sat there for a while waiting for someone to come back to take our drink and food order. A guy who looked to be the manager walked by that I had to stare down came over and asked if everything was okay. I asked if we could order as we had been sitting there about twenty minutes without even being asked if we wanted drinks. Eventually the young kid who sat us came to take our order. I also observed that as other people came in everyone was sat on the upper level and we were the only ones on the lower level besides when we came in there was a family finishing up. Found this weird as I said earlier we were told it was the “best seat in the house” but we were isolated away from the other people.

Now on to food. I got a 2 lemon drop martinis and they were not consistent in taste. My first one was too sour, the second one seemed to be lacking in alcohol and was then too sweet. The complimentary starter and bread was good, however they start you off with a nice warm fluffy bread but if you get a refill the pieces get smaller. The meatball appetizer with ricotta was my favorite item of the night. The meatballs actually had some zest to them as I usually find meatballs to be too plain when dining out, but the thought also crossed my mind that they tasted like those frozen meatballs you’d get at a grocery store the ones that are in a red, green, and white bag that say cooked perfectly. The ricotta cheese was amazing though. The piece of chicken was huge and had left overs. The seasoned potatoes and vegetables were also pretty good. The tiramisu was lacking in the coffee flavoring you typically find in tiramisu. After dinner they also gave us our choice of complimentary shots. Overall I’d try them again to see if the...

We had reservations for 7 o’clock last night. It was a party of four. When we got there they told us there was a 20 minute wait. I was annoyed, but we went to the bar. 50 minutes later I asked about our 7 o’clock reservation. There still was no tables. We finally decided to just eat at the bar. We ordered our appetizers and food at the same time. 45 minutes later 2 of our appetizers came out. The third one never arrived. 45 minutes later we asked about our food by now it was 9:30… when our food arrived, Stuffed artichoke hearts on the menu became a stuffed artichoke. When we said that was not what the person ordered. the manager (His name started with a Z ) rudely said, well you have food to eat. I said, but that’s not what he ordered. Why didn’t you offer him something else? He said it wasn’t mine to offer whatever that meant. Then he snapped!! He grabbed the dish, said something nasty as he walked into the kitchen. When we complained to another manager, the first man came and started, pushing the chairs next to us, mumbling under his breath. Trying to intimidate us. Now three of us have food and the fourth person has nothing. The bartender Justin was appalled by the other person‘s behavior and trying his best to diffuse and help the situation. My potatoes never came with my meal third appetizer still didn’t come out and one person had no food. It was a complete and utter disaster. It was freezing in there, mind you by now we’ve been there for hours.We commented that it was very cold and we were told they had no heat. When I went to the bathroom, there was no hot water. This restaurant should not have been open with no heat or hot water. Do yourself a favor do not go there. In all of my years of dining out, this was my number one worst experience ever at a restaurant. And I have never been spoken rudely at a restaurant by anybody let alone a manager. I hope the Health Department goes there today and closes them down for not having hot water. How do you sterilize anything...

Guess who won’t be back to Zola? This gal.

I really gave it a good try—I went three times and had issues with the service every time. My visit this weekend was the last straw. For a family-friendly restaurant, they sure aren’t very friendly to families.

I was there with a large group and had my infant with me. When I went to the bathroom to change her, I found that there was no changing table. I happened to run into what seemed like the manager and asked him about it. He couldn’t have cared less. His response? “Oh yeah. I guess there isn’t one.” So I asked where I could change my baby, and he just shrugged and said, “Uhh, I don’t know,” before walking away. I was so upset. If I hadn’t been with such a large group, I would have canceled my order and left.

Last time I went, the heat wasn’t working, and no one warned us. To make matters worse, they seated all the customers near the windows—during a winter blast when temperatures were freezing. There were icicles on the windows. The couple we were with even considered leaving because we couldn’t feel our fingers. We ended up moving our table to the middle of the restaurant just to be cold instead of frozen. If your heat isn’t working, why would you seat everyone near the drafty windows? No one even apologized for the inconvenience.

The first time I ever went, there was a fire. The bathroom was literally on fire, and no one told us to leave. No waiter or manager came over to explain or apologize. Instead, they just opened the doors to air it out—in the middle of winter—so we all sat there freezing. Customers were eating with their winter coats on, and still, no one came by to check on us.

On top of everything, every time we go, we have to search for our server. They barely check on the table, and you always end up needing something while they’re nowhere in sight. I’ve been there when it’s busy and when it’s slow—the service is the same regardless.

Trust me, the food isn’t worth it. Find a place with...